Abramsky spoke with some of Apple's top executives, including CFO Peter Oppenheimer, vice president of iTunes and Internet Services Eddy Cue, and vice president of Worldwide Mac Marketing David Moody. After getting their feedback, Abramsky is convinced a future Apple tablet would be focused more on video than content from traditional print sources.

"After music, video content is expected to be the next 'exploding' opportunity, but requires overcoming industry rights dysfunctionality, competing with subsidies (cable box, video), and developing the right consumer 'offer,'" Abramsky wrote in a report to investors. "Apple TV, while still a 'hobby,' is well positioned to benefit from evolving market dynamics. Apple was less enthusiastic about the online book/newspaper market, given unattractive industry structure."

Given that impression, one might easily conclude that Apple isn't interested in newspaper, magazine, or other content. But, as AppleInsider points out, Apple has disparaged ideas just before releasing a product that embodied those ideas, such as the iPhone and the original sub-$500 Mac mini.

What Apple may be proposing to these publishers is a multimedia format, perhaps built using the same technology as iTunes LP and iTunes Extras, that enhances or extends print content with images, video, audio, and more. This would offer a new opportunity outside of the "unattractive industry structure" and play to the strengths of an HD-resolution, backlit LCD display.

Marvel is already experimenting with motion comics, moving the traditional print format away from its static roots—this format would be a great fit for an Apple tablet. Imagine scientific texts with interactive graphs and charts, textbooks with video or animated diagrams, or a magazine article on your favorite band with snippets of an upcoming album.

Since the iTunes LP format is based on standard HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, such content could easily include links to additional Web-based content as well. The benefit over publishing directly via Web, however, is that it enables a way for content providers to monetize the content (iTunes Store) and for the content to be read offline.

While the Apple execs may have steered Abramsky away from the notion of e-book content for an Apple tablet with their responses to his questions, past experience suggests that it could be a clever smokescreen. Whatever Apple may have up its sleeve when it comes to video, print-related content, or even a tablet-like device, the company is unrivaled when it comes to leaving people guessing.